Re: SkyScout Errors

On Thu, 01 Feb 2007 19:37:19 -0500, giannoni
<casagiannoni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Well there is no user calibration procedure for the SkyScout. I wish
there were. Something like selecting a known and visible object from
the menue, sighting precisely on the object, then pressing a
"calibration" button, would be nice.

Yes, it would be nice. Essential IMO.

Magnetic deviations are not all that dependent on precise locations,
and are well known for essentially all locations.

Not so. I can walk around in one area of my property smaller than an
acre and get more than a 2° shift in magnetic declination. If I'm
standing near a metal object, it can be even greater. In this area the
USGS model is about a degree in error. I don't see how a device that
depends on the Earth's magnetic field to determine an accurate azimuth
can not incorporate some sort of calibration mechanism.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
.

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